The way we see it
Technology
Services
The Truly Mobile Workforce
Access to the right information, at the right
time, in the right place
MOBILE TECHNOLOGY DRIVES BUSINESS GROWTH
We are moving toward a mobile, wireless “now” economy—a 24-hour society where information is produced and consumed 24 hours a day. Increasingly, companies must predict and accommodate this fast-moving marketplace, together with an uncertain global economy, changes in the regulatory
environment, and shifting technological platforms. This volatile environment calls for real-time enterprises that swiftly and cost-effectively respond to changes.
Today, the ability to execute real-time serves as a major competitive advantage. This requires the delivery of timely and actionable
information to the location where it is needed and can make the maximum impact. The mobile workforce is a powerful tool for reaching customers where they live and work. When operating to full potential, the mobile sales or field service workforce truly differentiates a winner from the pack. Mobile technology extends operational excellence, beats competitors to the punch with key products and services, and develops meaningful relationships with customers and business partners.
STANDARD TECHNOLOGY TAILORED FOR UNIQUE SOLUTIONS
Much more than voice communication, mobile technology has grown to encompass a bounty of devices, connectivity infrastructures, bandwidths, platforms, and applications. By enabling enterprises to operate in an “untethered” fashion, mobile technology unlocks value in existing systems and delivers that value through the people who interact with customers on a daily basis.
Most informal and formal signs point to heightened focus in mobile technology. Major companies in particular have dramatically increased their interest in how to implement enterprise mobility
!A recent survey by Forrester, of information
technology decision-makers in North American enterprises with more than 1,000 employees, as well as small and medium-size businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees, revealed how mobility is moving into the mainstream. Results showed that 47 percent of the enterprises planned to deploy mobile applications within 12 months, while a notable 68 percent of the small-to-medium-sized businesses planned deployment in the same time frame.
!A May 2004 survey of 988 Global 2000 executives conducted by Larstan Business Reports indicated that these executives recognize the critical value mobility plays in their future business success. More than half reported that providing mobile employees with secure remote access to mission-critical information was vital to their strategic objectives. Slightly fewer noted similar belief in the need to provide such access to strategic partners and customers. Larstan Business Reports: “Managing the Mobility Imperative,” July, 2004
All of this confirms that enterprises of all sizes view mobile information technology as a catalyst for strategic change rather than simply a tactical technology initiative.
of the office serving their customers. Analysts at IDC expect that the number of mobile workers in the U.S. alone will reach 105 million by 2006, representing roughly two-thirds of all workers.—IDC: “Worldwide Mobile and Wireless Professional Services Forecast Update, 2001-2006,” April, 2003 These statistics capture what you already know: People on the job are increasingly on the go.
Clearly, mobility has turned mainstream. This paper demonstrates how mobile technology supports key business drivers and how it can be implemented in two key business functions: field sales and field service.
THE VALUE OF MOBILITY
Real benefits are generated through the strategic use of mobile technology:
!Improved information flow, accuracy and
completeness
!Improved win rates and close rates
!Real-time access to information
!Reduced paper work
!Lower administrative, processing, infrastructure, labor, and other costs
!Improved worker productivity and efficiency !Enhanced customer satisfaction
!Reduced downtime
These benefits translate into meaningful statistics. In a three-site eight-week pilot of a field-service mobility solution, a recent Capgemini client experienced the following:
!100 percent improvement in insurance compliance
!66 percent decrease in average service
requests open each day
!55 percent decrease in average completion time to request
!35 percent increase in average field
technician efficiency
!33 percent increase in completeness of service request information
networks, and applications. The advancement of these frameworks makes it possible to implement mobile technology more smoothly and cost-effectively than even two to three years ago.
Improved wireless coverage for wide area networks (WANs) and local area networks (LANs) are driving mobile technology implementation, as are increasingly powerful mobile devices and applications and lower costs in all aspects of the technology. During 2004, the growth of radio frequency identification (RFID) will create additional demand, offering opportunities to companies that may not otherwise consider deploying mobile applications, as they see the value in highly distributed architectures for data and function.
In addition, cellular networks and communication capabilities have advanced. Off-the-shelf devices, for example, today provide the processing power, battery life, and ergonomics necessary for deploying systems -and at an affordable price.
All the major software and hardware players are investing significantly in mobility, and in wireless applications and infrastructure. World leaders such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Sun Systems, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Cisco, and Intel have recognized the market potential of mobile technology.
Customer-focused, service-based leaders such as UPS, Federal Express, Hertz, and Avis have incorporated wireless capability into the hearts of their basic businesses and operations. Experts believe that 57 percent of the global work force should become mobile (spending more than one day per week out of office) by 2006.
Wireless
Technology that connects wirelessly with other devices and allows always-on-line access to data. Examples include cellular phones, laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs) with wireless modems, and wireless LANs.
Mobile
Technology that is portable and allows a
combination of on-line and off-line access to data. Examples include laptops, cellular phones, wearable PCs, PDAs, Pocket PCs, Pocket PC Phone Editions, Smartphones and pagers. (Mobile includes wireless.)
Mobility
Extending enterprise information and technology into the field by integrating mobile devices and wireless technology to enable communication, information access, and business transactions from any device—anywhere, anytime.
technology. Grapple with how existing processes affect employees, particularly the benefits, inefficiencies, and other pain points. Answer all of the pertinent questions, and develop a vision and overall wireless and mobile strategy based on critical organizational goals and objectives. This process involves evaluating business processes to create requirements for each type of user and business partner. In this way, the proper solution becomes tangible. Synergy with experts who possess broad and deep capabilities enhances and speeds this process. Seek development partners who can provide insights into your market, guidance and capability for enabling workforce and enterprise solutions, and capacity for building and implementing systems. The best strategic partner is one that provides end-to-end mobility solutions, ranging from strategy to management of continuous mobile business operations.
A CASE IN POINT: SALES FORCE MOBILITY
Sales Force Mobility (SFM) leverages mobile technology to make field sales personnel more efficient and productive. Essentially, it extends enterprise SFA applications to a mobile device. SFM enables sales representatives to maximize every prospect or customer interaction, drive increased revenues, and garner market share. Depending on the scope of the project, SFM benefits include:
!Increased workforce productivity !Targeted marketing
!Improved accuracy and completeness of data
on clients, competitors, and products
!Better sample management
!Enhanced customer satisfaction
!Change the interaction with the client from transactional to relationship based
!Cost savings from reductions in back-office
administration, per service visit costs, and other factors
The way we see it
Likewise, a recent pharmaceutical client showed significant improvements within seven months of deploying a field-sales mobility solution:
!58 percent of representatives agreed that the
new approach improved their post-call notes
!70 percent said that it improved their pre-call planning
!76 percent said they were able to enter more
information
!79 percent agreed that it reduced their amount of time working at home
A LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION THAT MATCHES BUSINESS DRIVERS
Today’s mobile technology allows you to introduce mobility in a controlled, phased manner that demonstrates business benefits. Depending on your business goals and experience with mobility, you can:
!Adopt mobility by implementing capabilities as a subset of a key process or function. This allows you to develop experience and commitment by defining and delivering on value-based goals such as return on investment (ROI).
!Adapt mobility by extending it across
multiple functions. This allows you to leverage mobility to streamline current processes and to identify potential new capabilities.
!Use mobility to transform your enterprise
ecosystem. This allows you to use mobility to redefine your market position and raise competitive barriers.
This measured approach makes it possible for you to manage the multitude of choices for devices, applications, security, and other aspects through clearly defined business requirements. It enables a solution unique to your industry and your situation, and ensures an architecture-based solution that provides long-term, sustainable value at a reasonable cost. Essentially, it facilitates a better way -faster, more efficient—of doing what you have always done.
For the most part, business issues drive the implementation of mobility. You should consider the potential impact of mobility on the organization, the needs of those engaged in processes, and the implications on your
Field Sales
A large Spanish retailer of women’s fashions uses mobility to analyze data from the shop floor on a daily basis. Store managers, equipped with customized handheld devices, regularly submit suggestions for new colors and cuts based on customer queries. Central planners and product managers receive the information and compare the data with suggestions from other store managers.
A major decorative coatings company provides PDAs with barcode scanners to enable customers to place new orders easily and accurately by scanning the code on a can of paint. Customers also receive marketing material through these PDAs.
customers? What are your three-to-five most critical business drivers and how does your mobile workforce contribute to those drivers? Can mobility positively influence these drivers as you make changes in people, technology, and processes? These questions are the place to start as you determine whether mobile technology can provide meaningful benefits: increased market share, access to new markets and improved business performance.
As the answers become clear, you can begin to evaluate the organizational impact of
implementing mobile technology, consider all the technological and process potentials, and allocate the appropriate resources. With the flexibility inherent in mobile technology, you can implement solutions in a phased approach. Each step of the way, risks decrease and benefits increase.
Consider the future mobile technology promises as you work with strategic partners to implement mobility: Information and
communication flows freely between the field and the office, in real time. Synchronized processes enhance responsiveness and service. Overall administrative costs decrease. Your mobile workforce creates new opportunities and solidifies existing relationships. You become the industry standard for others to emulate.
A major global petroleum company has seen the benefits of mobility in the field work force. It manages work orders anytime/anywhere with a mobile application. This allows operators to access back-office systems information with a finger tip. Through this access, the operator can select and perform the right task for the right equipment at the right time. Subsequently, by adding information about the service visit, the operator contributes to tracking and other quality controls. The information for the service visit can then be downloaded on a handheld computer in the form of tasks and task lists, which track all work to be performed. A European airline uses mobility to ensure swift and safe turnaround of aircraft for flight. Using a mobile application, the service team leader has real-time insight in the progress of the most essential processes such as towing, catering, fuelling, and boarding. This enables meaningful prioritizing of activities and early warning of delays. Employees involved in these processes communicate through their handheld devices about work schedules and activity status. Their handheld devices also provide information about maintenance history, safety instructions, positioning of personnel, access to the Internet, and other key tasks. In this way, the team leader can follow and support the overall process and process steps—in real time.
systems and processes to a mobile, geographically dispersed field staff. FSM provides benefits to industries such as utilities, consumer products (retail and distribution), telecommunications, and healthcare. Typical functions covered by an FSM solution include:
!Dispatch/scheduling/assignment
!Notification
!Tracking/resolution
!Locating equipment and work-sites (by integrating GPS)
!Inventory management and sourcing of spare
parts
!Data collection
FSM addresses a number of field service-specific business problems. It improves productivity and lowers costs by increasing the efficiency of work and reducing revisits. It improves cash flow by improving invoice data gathering, thereby accelerating payments from customers. It reduces paperwork and duplicate handling by using mobile interfaces to capture data and synchronize with back-office systems—eliminating the need for data re-entry. It extends enterprise applications to the field, enabling technicians to access critical data. It improves response time and coordination between mobile workers and those at fixed locations. And it allows technicians to leverage “knowledge
repositories” for complicated work, reducing the need for “experts in the field.”
Depending on the level and scope of implementation, FSM can improve:
!Field workforce productivity
!Integrity of work order/service request data updates
!Visibility into field service operations !Customer satisfaction
!Cost savings from factors such as back office
TAKE A UNIQUE APPROACH TO MOBILITY
Partnership with a proven leader will accelerate your integration into the wireless “now” culture. Capgemini takes a unique approach to mobility—stressing business-driven,
technology-enabled initiatives that purge inefficiencies from underlying business processes and unlock opportunities to transform and innovate.
This strategy has created proven solutions through a comprehensive approach to integrating mobility into a client’s business. Our tested framework covers the entire value chain, from strategy development to management of continuous mobile business operations, and our tested methodologies speed implementation and its associated financial benefits.
Expertise derived from decades of research and partnerships with industry leaders around the world allows you to access in-depth knowledge of sector-specific business processes, field and sales service functions, best practices, and the broader supply chain that crosses industries. For example, Capgemini is a member of 14 Microsoft Partner Advisory Councils and has served on the Mobility Partner Advisory Council for three years. Through ongoing dialogue and quarterly meetings, we provide feedback on strategic Microsoft products, field engagements, programs, and services. Knowledge and experience derived from these relationships makes it possible for you to apply mobility in a way that suits your particular business environment and needs.
Working with Capgemini allows you to create a customized, business-driven, technology-enabled approach to mobility. We can help you speed time-to-value and reduce your risks by giving you the power to leverage world-class capabilities and an ecosystem of alliances.
The way we see it
Overview
The client is a leading manufacturer of fork-lift trucks worldwide.
!The aim of the project was to reduce back office costs, increase technician efficiency and
improve cash-flow
!The solution developed will equip 1,500 field service technicians in Europe (11 countries) with Pocket PCs that provide them with full mobile access
Value Delivered
A packaged solution that delivered a business case driven future mobile business solution which included a future mobile business blueprint, system definition, architecture design, and solution development/pilot implementation plan
Quantitative Benefits
!Cost savings with fewer back office staff, fewer service personnel, lower paper costs
!Complete new system expected to save client around $3M USD (EUR 2.5 million)
Qualitative Benefits
!Reduced errors
!Faster and more accurate communication and information
!More accurate spare parts management
!Better planning and utilization of service technicians
!Stronger customer relationships
!More competitive service
!Improved morale among staff
© 2004 Capgemini. No part of this document may be modified, deleted or expanded by any process or means without prior written permission from Capgemini.
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Capgemini employs approximately 55,000 people worldwide and reported 2003 global revenues of 5.7 billion euros.
More information about our services, offices and research is available at
www.capgemini.com. Rajesh Bhatia Capgemini [email protected] 404.806.4901 Vishy Gopalakrishnan Capgemini [email protected] 408.850.5553 Todd Madison Capgemini [email protected] 408.861.1973